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Alumna awarded fellowship to research history of people of color in youth theater programs

Posted on February 14, 2018

Shavonne Coleman has a pink Post-it note with the name Ann K. Flagg
written on it hanging in her office. It may not seem like much, but it
is something she has carried with her since graduate school in 2011.
For Coleman it represents a larger concern-a lack of history about
people of color in youth theater.

Ann K. Flagg is a woman of color who was previously a director and
playwright at Karamu House in Cleveland, Ohio, the oldest
African-American-operated theater in the U.S. She was one of the only
people of color in youth theater that Coleman encountered in her text books.

Coleman now has the opportunity to uncover that history as a 2018
Theatre for Young Audience (TYA) Emerging Leader Fellow when she
travels to Arizona State University this spring to research the topic.

"I hope that my work will provide a space for numerous people to
continue the conversation," said Coleman, who graduated from
Grand Valley in 2007 and currently serves as a visiting professor of
theater. "I hope that my voice will strengthen the vocal cords
of this movement in order to keep pushing people and institutions
forward in this direction, as well as continue to solidify the need
for this kind of work."

Since leaving Grand Valley, Coleman traveled to Seoul, South Korea to
direct a performance at the Zoom Theatre in 2013. More recently,
Coleman has been a teaching artist for VSA Michigan, Cross Town
Theatre and Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit. She is also the founder
of Acting O.U.T., a creative arts development organization in Detroit.

While she has been active in her field for many years, Coleman has
yet to dive into expanding the research regarding people of color in
youth theater.

"In a class discussion, I was told that people of color weren't
participating in drama for youth as recently as the 1990s," said
Coleman. "I knew that couldn't be true, but I didn't know what to
do about it."

Throughout Coleman's vibrant career the issue she first learned about
in graduate school was never forgotten. When applications were being
accepted for the fellowship she realized she could finally make a
difference. Receiving the fellowship showed her not only the
commitment to these issues that both TYA, Grand Valley and other
communities have, but also how she can make an impact by ensuring the
efforts by people of color are seen.

Coleman continues to spread her Laker Effect, and she is excited to
encourage her students to do the same.

"Being a Laker for a Lifetime is so true," said Coleman,
"I'm a Laker, and I want to make Grand Valley better. I want to
help students make an impact or help them get involved."